Anne was the first to wake up the next morning to sun streaming through the windshield. She uncurled and groaned as she stretched, stiff from sitting in the driver's seat all night. She peered further back into the bus and smiled as she saw the scene set there. Dallon was sprawled across two sleeping bags on his stomach. He had kicked his blanket off, and it now lay under Hal's cot. Maggie was sound asleep in her cot, her golden hair splayed across the pillow. In the center section of the bus, Tom was sleeping on his back, his hands under his head. Anne couldn't see Hal from her position, but she could see Ben and Matt. Matt was in the front of the cot, while Ben was in the back, pressed between his brother and the wall. Matt was asleep, one of his arms and both of his feet hanging into the aisle. Ben was curled up slightly, his arms wrapped around Matt's stomach and his face buried in Matt's curly hair. At first, Anne thought he was asleep, but as she watched, he moved slightly, reaching down and lifting Matt's arm back onto the bed before tightening his grip on Matt and curling up more. In the very back, all four of the girls crammed onto the couch were still asleep and mostly out of view. Harlem had somehow worked his way into the aisle and was sleeping with his head near Tom's and his feet against the couch. Jimmy was curled up with his head on Harlem's legs and the rest of his body out of view. Abby was almost invisible; Anne could only see one foot, half of an arm, and Colm's legs where he was curled up on her lap.

She observed this all slowly, taking it in carefully; she wanted to be able to remember the rare peaceful moment. She was surprised to realize that she already thought of the eight new children as part of her growing family, although she had only met them a day and a half previous.

A sudden loud banging on the door drew her attention and rapidly ended the peaceful scene. Dallon jumped and shouted, banging his head on Maggie's cot, which woke her up. The bang and Dallon's shout woke up Tom, Hal, and Ben as well, Tom and Hal sitting straight up, while Ben lifted his head, looking plainly alarmed. In the back, Harlem flailed around, trying to roll over with Jimmy's head on his legs, and only managed to kick Abby with his slightly freer leg.

Anne nearly dissolved into laughter at the sight, but went to open the door while everyone else oriented themselves.

'Good morning, Colonel,' she said with a smile. 'Come on in.'

'Good morning, Anne,' Weaver replied gruffly. He stepped in, observing the muddy shoes, backpacks, clothes, and blanket at the stairs. 'Who's awake?'

'Almost everyone,' Anne replied. She looked into the back of the bus to figure out who was completely awake. Hal and Maggie were sitting up, blankets still wrapped around their shoulders in the early morning chill. Tom was on his feet, strapping on his gun belt. Dallon was still sitting on his sleeping bag, clutching his head. Ben's head had dropped, and Matt was still asleep. In the back, it looked like all of the girls and Jimmy were still asleep, but Harlem had managed to extricate himself from Jimmy and sit up and Abby had disappeared from view with Colm. 'You can see for yourself.'

Tom had finished with his belt and was standing over Ben and Matt, an expression of wonder on his face. He turned to Anne and mouthed "he's asleep", pointing at Ben. Anne smiled in response, as thrilled as Tom was since Ben rarely slept.

'Be as quiet as you can,' she told Weaver, leaning down to check on Dallon's head. Weaver stepped up to stand next to the driver's seat. 'I was going to have some of the spiked kids go check on the skitter force again, but some of our scouts saw them heading back the direction we came, so I'm not going to make them go now.'

'It's cool,' Dallon mumbled. 'Harlem and I are up; we can head over and check on it. It'll be easier going with the light, and no rain, and the mud should be mostly dry. Plus, we know where we're going now. We can probably be back in two hours, three tops.'

'Okay,' Weaver nodded.

'I need pants first,' Harlem grumbled as he picked his way to the front of the bus. 'No way can I run or trek through the woods in these.'

'I'll climb up top and get our clothes down,' Dallon replied. 'Come on,' he added, standing and grabbing his shoes on the way out of the bus. Harlem followed, holding the too-big pants up with one hand and grabbing his shoes with the other. There was a thump as Dallon landed on the roof, then two softer whumps as he tossed his and Harlem's backpacks.

'Let the other kids sleep,' Weaver said sympathetically. 'It's been a long few days, and who know what those other spiked kids went through before they got here.'

'Hell, from what I've heard them saying,' Tom replied softly, stepping away from Ben and Matt's bed after covering them up with the blanket Ben had kicked off.

'I'm sure,' Weaver nodded. He and Tom left the bus, Tom grabbing his shoes from the steps on the way out. 'What have they said?'

'Not much, but I heard Matt and one of the girls, Summer, talking in the bus yesterday,' Tom replied. 'She said that the skitters used them as foot soldiers, sending them into skirmishes to fight with only one or two rebels with them. Colm said that their pack usually got sent in alone, or sometimes with this guy named Samson, who's apparently more skitter than human.'

'That's a hard life for anyone, especially such young kids,' Weaver shook his head. 'Do you know how old they are?'

'Colm is eight,' Tom shook his head sadly. 'Mariah is nine, Amanda is ten, and Summer is eleven. Then there's Jimmy and Harlem, who are fifteen, Abby is seventeen, and Dallon is nineteen.'

'Eight,' Weaver repeated, astonished.

'Yeah,' Tom nodded. 'It's horrible. He was six when he was harnessed.'

'What do they even want with kids that young?' Weaver wondered.

'I guess they just take what they can get,' Tom said wryly.

'I guess,' Weaver agreed. He looked around. 'I don't want to get unpacked or anything until Dallon and Harlem get back, but I don't think we have too much to worry about. There's a few people who have started doing laundry and dishes in the river, and I think a few are even bathing. I'm not letting anyone getting too settled in, but I think we'll be safe here for a little while.'

'I hope so,' Tom sighed. 'We've been running since we left Boston.'

'That we have,' Weaver agreed. 'Even I'm feeling a need to slow down.'

Tom laughed at the comment. 'Charleston softened you up, Dan.'

'That's what I'm afraid of,' Weaver complained.

Ben woke up slowly, feeling better rested than he had since the removal of his harness a year and a half before. His arms were still wrapped around Matt, who was still asleep and snoring softly. He looked across the bus and was surprised to see not only Hal gone but several rolled-up sleeping bags piled on his cot. Ben lifted his head and discovered that the floor was clear, and Maggie was also gone. He tried to peer into the back, but couldn't see anything from where he was lying.

'Morning, sleepyhead,' Anne smiled, walking back from the front of the bus.

'What time is it?' Ben asked, pulling his arm out from under Matt.

'Not sure,' Anne replied. 'At least nine or ten.'

'Ugh,' Ben groaned. 'I can't believe I slept so late.'

'Don't worry,' Anne smiled warmly. 'You need sleep.'

Ben sighed and scratched his neck. 'Sure,' he sighed.

'Come on, breakfast is out there,' Anne said. 'Your stuff is on the cot in the front if you want to change.'

'Thanks,' Ben nodded. 'I'll be out in a few. Do you want me to wake Matt up?'

'No, just let him and the others sleep,' Anne shook her head. 'It's been a long time since we could rest.'

Ben nodded again as Anne left. Carefully, so as not to disturb Matt, he slipped off the bed and rearranged the blanket over his younger brother. He walked to the cot in the front of the bus, where his backpack was along with several others. He pulled a shirt out, then unbuttoned the plaid one he had donned the night before and pulled it on. He got out a pair of pants and returned to his and Matt's bed to change into them, sitting on the edge of the cot. He folded the borrowed clothes and set them on the cot next to the backpacks before moving towards the back of the bus to grab his weapons. He fastened his gun belt around his hips and grabbed his rifle. He turned as he started to sling the rifle over his shoulder, then jumped and nearly dropped the gun when he realized that Abby was awake and watching him from the floor of the back compartment.

'Morning,' she snickered. 'Didn't mean to scare you.'

'I didn't realize you were awake,' Ben replied, slinging his gun across his back.

'Yeah, I have been for a while, but I don't want to move Colm,' Abby replied, shifting slightly. 'I don't want him to wake up.'

'Do you want to lay him down with Matt?' Ben asked, glancing back at his brother.

'Sure,' Abby sighed. 'It's better than the floor.' She squirmed around, trying to get her feet under her. 'Gah,' she muttered.

'Here,' said Ben, stepping forward. He leaned down and took Colm from her, then carried him to Matt's cot and laid him down.

'Thanks,' said Abby. She stood up and paused in the doorway. 'Hey, could you stand outside and make sure no-one comes in so I can change?'

'Sure,' Ben nodded. He went outside, Abby following him to the front of the bus to the backpacks.

Ben waited against the side of the bus next to the door, shivering until Abby came out. 'Here,' she said, handing him a big black jacket. 'Yours is all muddy,' she explained.

'Whose is this?' Ben asked, pulling it on.

'I have an extra,' she replied. She wore dark grey leggings with a pair of mint-green shorts and a thick grey shirt with an oversized camouflage jacket over top. Her brown boots were completely covered in mud.

'Come on,' Ben said. 'Breakfast is over there.'

As the two walked towards the new fire circle, Abby pulled her messy hair into an unruly ponytail. 'What happened to your face?' Ben asked, looking at a large, purpley bruise on Abby's left cheekbone that hadn't been there the day before.

'Harlem kicked me when he woke up,' Abby laughed.

'How did he manage that?' Ben asked.

'Well, he was laying on his stomach with his legs up the couch, and Jimmy was laying on his legs,' Abby explained. 'When he woke up, he was trying to get Jimmy off and just ended up flailing around and kicked me in the face.'

'Ouch,' Ben laughed.

'Morning!' Hal called as the two approached. 'Sleepyheads.'

'Shut up,' Ben shot back, punching Hal lightly in the shoulder.

'Ooh, that looks painful,' Maggie said, looking at Abby's face.

'Yeah, a little,' she shrugged. 'I've had way worse,' she added with a laugh.

'Here,' said Maggie, handing Abby a chunk of granola.

'What is it?' Abby asked, eyeing up the unappetizing morsel.

'Granola, raisins, craisins, and some stale cherios,' Maggie replied. 'I'm not really sure how they're stuck together, but I'm not sure I want to know.'

'Okay,' Abby nodded. 'How am I supposed to eat it?'

'Here,' said Maggie, handing her a tin cup and a spoon. 'Put it in the cup, break it apart with the spoon.'

'Okay,' Abby nodded. She took the cup and spoon from Maggie, put the chunk of breakfast in it, and started chopping it up with the spoon.

Ben did the same with his own breakfast. 'Hey, what about the skitters? Weaver said he wanted to send us back out to check on them this morning.'

'Some of the scouts saw a skitter force headed the way we came yesterday,' Hal replied. 'Weaver isn't too worried about them, but he sent Harlem and Dallon to check it out anyways. They were the only ones awake when he came by.'

'I think I remember that,' Ben said.

'You kind of woke up,' Hal replied. 'You sort of sat up, then flopped back down and hugged Matt like a teddy bear.'

'I remember it,' Abby said around a mouthful of food. 'That's when Harlem kicked me.'

'Sorry,' Harlem said, sneaking up behind Abby and clapping his hands down on her shoulders, startling her and nearly causing her to choke on her breakfast.

'Off,' she grunted, swinging an arm around to elbow Harlem in the hip. He dodged and plopped down between her and Ben.

'What's the verdict on the skitters?' Hal asked.

'They're gone,' Harlem replied. 'Dallon and I followed their tracks to the road and down past the point we left it. We already told Colonel Weaver and your dad.'

'So we can stay here?' Maggie grinned. 'That's great.'

'I never thought I'd say it, but I miss Charleston,' Hal laughed. 'I miss sleeping indoors, on a bed, eating real food at a table… but it is great to be back out here with the 2nd Mass.'

'Hey!' Tom called as he approached. 'Morning Ben, Abby. How did you two sleep last night?'

'Pretty well, thanks,' Abby smiled.

'Yeah, great,' Ben agreed. 'Better than I've slept since… since before the skitters invaded.'

'That's good,' Tom grinned. 'We'll be staying here for a while. In a little while, we'll set up the tent and the extension for the bus.' He turned to Abby and Harlem. 'You and the others are welcome to stay with us. We'll have to keep the med-bus clear in case something happens, but you can sleep in our tent until we can find something for you.'

'Thank you,' Abby smiled gratefully. 'We all appreciate everything you're doing for us.'

'It's nothing,' Tom reassured her. 'We'd do it for anyone. The tent's going to be more than a little crowded, but it'll work for now.'

'We don't want to cause trouble,' Abby said quickly. 'We'd be just fine sleeping outside.'

'Not going to happen,' Anne said, approaching from the direction of the river. 'I don't want to have to deal with a bunch of pneumonia cases, for one. It's cold, and damp, and you'll get sick if you stay outside. Not to mention it wouldn't be morally right.'

'We've been sleeping outside since we were deharnessed,' Abby shook her head. 'We'll be fine.'

'No,' Anne said decisively. 'We'll make it work.'

Abby sighed and shook her head. 'Whatever you say, Doc. Thank you.'